With further internet investigation this is a leading suspect... I am less than thrilled with the potential diagnosis as the internet reports $9-$12K to repair this problem...

I see there are two fixes, one just inserts a pipe in the front of the tube and solves one end of the pipe, the other involves a little more labor (10-15 hours) and a special collapsible pipe.

Since the trade in value of this X4 is only about $7,500 I'm not about to spend more than that to keep it on the road. To make crap worse, I'm moving to a rental house today so I can start demolition on my kitchen, living, dining, entry way... not a lot of spare time to fix anything myself, or to even go new car shopping which isn't in the budget either...

There are less expensive ways to fix a coolant pipe leak. The attached is interesting and likely the least cost. I don't know if anyone has tried it and found it successful. I am not fond of additives to coolant but that is from years of history. Might want to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UABuZYvI3SM There are some other methods that will come up if you search BMW coolant pipe leak.

That is a good plan, but won't it only fix the problem is the front seal is leaking... What if it is the rear seal that is causing the problem, the magic leak stop won't really fix that will it?

Leading me to fix number 2 and removing the intake manifold.

How tough is it to remove the intake anyways? I've got tools and a nice shop, just never worked on newer stuff. Any specific tools that are needed? Are the gaskets reusable or do I have to replace them like on old Gen I SBC applications?

The claim in the video is the additive takes care of other potential leaks. I don't consider gaskets reusable. That's the reason I would look for folks that have used this method.

I haven't searched but it is quite likely you can find a diy step by step here or perhaps on youtube. Newer stuff can be intimidating if only for the electronics removing the intake is about a 4 on scale of 1-10 with ten being most difficult.

I've been doing a lot more searching and found a guy with a great writeup.

The difference between the front seal and the rear seal is what makes me start leaning towards the cheaper fix.
Totally different designs.
Another one bites the dust... (coolant transfer pipe on N62) - Page 2 - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums
http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/...T3339Large.jpg

Right, it is unusual the rear seal is a problem.

Removing the intake and valley pan to expose the coolant pipe isn't all that hard. Just a bit time consuming. Probably the hardest part is disconnecting all the little damn plugs so you can get the wiring harness out of the way


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Well the dealership couldn't get to it today so tomorrow morning I should know the fate. I hate spending money on diagnosis but I guess it saves me time replacing parts willie nilly.

Good plan.

Well $130 wasted to tell me that it is the coolant pipe...

Estimate was just over $13k.

Took to second shop, they're going to look into the aftermarket collapsible replacement pipe.
I just don't have time right now... to do it the recommended way they will be about $5-$7k.

If nobody does it the reasonable way we're going for a rental car and I'm ordering parts....